Child of Theos

 

Noah: An Uncompromising Man Who Did an Unreasonable Task.

By

Patrick Neiswinger

 

                        

(Hebrews 11:7) "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not yet seen, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house: by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

 

Old Testament Example of Noah's Faith

            The world in Noah's day was increasingly wicked. In Genesis 6:5 the Bible says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." It says that every imagination of the thoughts were evil continually. Everywhere Noah would look he would see evil. God was very grieved by the condition of the people so he decided to destroy the world along with everything in it. It says in verse six that it repented God that He had made man. Many people get confused with this word repentance. They sometimes say, "God cannot sin so how can he repent." Repentance here is not talking about turning away from sin; rather it is talking about a change of mind.  John Gill in his Exposition of the Entire Bible uses this example: " A potter, when he has formed a vessel that does not please him, repents that he has made it, he takes it and breaks it in pieces; and so God, because of man's wickedness, and to show his aversion to it, repented of his making him; that is, he resolved within himself to destroy him."[1]  The word is often translated to mean sigh. It has the idea of a parent sighing over their disobedient child. It is the idea of being grieved over something that is done wrongfully. God in his mercy looked for at least one man that was just and upright; one person that He could possibly save from destruction. As a result of His search, He found one man, Noah.  The Bible says in Genesis 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." In the preceding verse it says, "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah walked with God." It says that he was perfect, so was he without sin. No, of course not! It would be discovered later on in his life that he committed the sin of drunkenness. So Noah was not sinless. The word perfect speaks here of his integrity. He was upright before God. John Gill makes this statement, "this is not saying that he was perfectly holy, or free from sin, but was a partaker of the true grace of God; was sincere and upright in heart and life; lived an unblemished life and conversation, untainted with the gross corruptions of that age he lived in."[2]  After finding Noah, God then gives him specific orders. God told Noah to build an ark, to gather all the animals (two of every kind), and gather all his family into it. God told Noah that he was going to destroy the earth with a big flood. It is hard to tell what exactly what Noah was thinking at this point. He may have been thinking that the orders he was given were unreasonable. No doubt the people around him thought this as he began working on the ark. More than likely Noah did not know what an ark was, nor did he know what a flood or even rain was. At this time in history there had never been rain at all. In spite of all of the orders of God seeming to be unreasonable to Noah, he was still obedient and did exactly what God told him. Matthew Henry in his commentary makes this statement: "Noah's care and diligence in building the ark may be considered as an effect of his faith in the word of God. God had told him he would shortly drown the world; he believed it, feared the threatened deluge, and, in that fear, prepared the ark."[3] Noah listened to every detail that was given by God and built the ark to the exact specifications. Noah stepped out in faith completely believing that God would keep his word. Even though it was in man's eyes the unreasonable thing to do.

Hebrews Example of Noah's Faith

            Noah was a man who walked close with God. In fact the Old Testament says that he was a just man. F.F. Bruce said, "Noah was a righteous man, like Abel; he walked with God, as did Enoch; but what is emphasized here is that when God announced that He would do something unprecedented in the experience of his contemporaries, Noah took Him at His word, and showed that he did so by making practical preparations against the day when that word would come true."[4] So since he walked close with God he was able to hear His word. God was not at all pleased with the condition of the world in which Noah lived and was ready to destroy it and start over. God went to Noah and warned him about the things to come for the world. Noah believed wholeheartedly that God was going to do what He said He was going to do, that is destroy the earth and everything in it. In Hebrews 11:7 the Bible states that Noah was moved with fear. That phase is from the Greek word eulabatheis which means to reverence or stand in awe of something. Albert Barns puts this very well. He says, "His (Noah's) reverence and respect for God induced him to act under the belief that what He (God) had said was true, and that the calamity which he had predicted would certainly come upon the world."[5] Adam Clark says that Noah was "influenced by religious fear or reverence toward God. This is mentioned to show that he acted not from fear of losing his life, but from the fear of God, and hence that fear is here properly attributed to faith."[6] Out of total trust and respect for God, Noah began to build the ark.

            Noah being motivated by God began the preparation of the building of the ark. In verse seven the Bible says that he "prepared an ark". In the original this word prepared literally means to prepare thoroughly. Gill said, "Immediately, and without delay, he set about the building of the ark, and made it exactly according to the pattern which was given him." C.H. Spurgeon in his sermon entitled Noah's Faith, Fear, Obedience, and Salvation said, "There was careful preparation, and not hurried, thoughtless activity. He prepared the right materials; he prepared the different parts so as to fit together: he prepared his mind, and then prepared his work."[7] Through fear and faith in God, Noah was motivated to prepare the ark for the saving of his family.

            The text goes on and says "by the which he condemned the world". This phrase in the original is defined as, "the conduct of one person, since it sets a standard, can result in the condemnation before God of another person whose conduct is inferior."[8] Albert Barns says, "The meaning is, that by his confidence in God, and his preparation for the flood, he showed the wisdom of his own course and the folly of theirs. He shows the guilt and folly of their lives by the contrast between his conduct and theirs."[9] No doubt many times Noah gave the people a chance to help him build the ark and escape destruction, but they were so enslaved by their wickedness that they would not heed his warning nor help him in his endeavors to build the ark. Adam Clark sums it up pretty well, he said, "He [Noah] credited God; they did not. He walked in the way God had commanded; they did not. He repeatedly admonished them, they regarded it not. This aggravated their crimes, while it exalted his faith and righteousness."[10] Time and time again Noah tried to encourage the people to help him and come on board but they would not consider the warning. Instead they increased in their wickedness as Noah increased in his faith.

            The final phrase of the text says that Noah became "heir of the righteousness which is by faith." According to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon an appropriate definition for the word heir is "one who has acquired or obtained the portion allotted to him."[11] Noah acquired something, what was it? Noah acquired righteousness. This righteousness is not something that he obtained from his ancestors. No he acquired it by his faith in God. Noah diligently kept the specific orders that God had given him. Noah remained faithful to God despite all of the distractions that stood in his way. The word righteousness is from the Greek word  dikaiosunē which is defined as "the quality, state, or practice of judicial responsibility."[12] It says in the Old Testament that Noah was a just (righteous) man. Noah was just because of his faithfulness to God.

Application for Today

            Many times God calls his people to do things that seem to be unreasonable. It may or may not be something massive like in Noah's case; but it is simply against all logic. God may call someone to some obscure location somewhere in the Congo in Africa. It may not seem logical to go to a place where there is nothing but poverty. It seems unreasonable to give up a home with a three car garage and three cars to go in it for a mud hut with no car at all. It takes a great deal of faith to do something of this magnitude. Most of society would look down on this person and think that he is a fool. They say, "He is actually going to give up everything he has to go to a place in the middle of nowhere?" That was the way it was for Noah. The people probably said, "He is actually building a floating box to survive a flood? He must be out of his mind, what is a flood anyway?" Someone may be called to do some extravagant thing that is unreasonable.

            The thing that God may command someone to do may not be a huge thing. God may call on someone to witness to the lowliest person at their workplace. Everybody around him taunts and teases him for taking the time out of his schedule to be a friend to this "dirty and disgusting" person. The man witnessing and befriending this lowly person may think that what he is doing is against all logic. But he knows that God has commended him to do it and he realizes that he must do it in spite of the hazing.  When God call someone to do something, he must step out by faith even though the world may oppose. He must take the leap of faith and obedience even though it may seem illogical or unreasonable. The key to faith is to obey God's commands no matter what the world or logic may say. Keep on Keeping on.